PEORIA, Ill. – A four-set match favored the Fighting Illini as Illinois volleyball topped Bradley at the Renaissance Center on Tuesday night.
The Fighting Illini improved to 5-3 with the win on Tuesday night. The Braves dropped to 7-3 on the year.
The Orange and Blue amassed 48 kills while posting a .228 hitting percentage for the match. Defensively, the team totaled 41 digs and 11 blocks against the Braves.
Caroline Barnes and
Jessica Nunge added three aces each.
Raina Terry paced the squad with 16 kills and six blocks while
Kennedy Collins added 10 kills on a .421 hitting clip.
Brooke Mosher tallied a squad-best 35 assists while
Lily Barry led the way with 11 digs.
How it happened
Illinois struggled early in the match, trailing 12-6 before the Illini burned a timeout. Coming out of the break, offensive woes continued to plague the Orange and Blue with the team hitting just .097 for the set while Bradley dominated with a .591 hitting percentage. The early deficit was too much to overcome with Illinois dropping the opening frame, 25-16.
The teams went back-and forth with Illinois leading 15-14 at the media break following an ace by Collins. Back-to-back points for Illinois led to a Bradley timeout with the Fighting Illini holding the slight 21-19 edge. With the set tied at 23 apiece, Terry and Mosher recorded kills to close out the 25-23 triumph.
The Illini found their rhythm to open the third set, and an ace by Barnes gave Illinois the early 8-2 advantage. A 5-0 run fueled with a pair of kills by Nunge helped the Orange and Blue extend the 13-3 lead. A 4-0 turn by Bradley led to an Illinois timeout, but Terry killed the run, keeping Illinois ahead by six. The Braves fended off set point twice, but
Cari Bohm ended the set with a block to give Illinois the 25-22 victory.
The teams kept the fourth frame tight, with the Illini using a timeout while trailing 9-8. With the set close, the Fighting Illini went on a 5-0 with Barnes behind the service line to earn the 17-14 advantage. Illinois continued to dominate and Terry sealed the match with a kill, giving the Illini the 25-21 win in the fourth set.
Up Next
Illinois closes out non-conference action with the Boilermaker Challenge. The Fighting Illini take on USC on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.
Notes
- Starters:
Brooke Mosher,
Raina Terry,
Kayla Burbage,
Kennedy Collins,
Vanessa Pan,
Cari Bohm and
Lily Barry
- The Illini wore long sleeved blue jerseys, moving to 3-0 while donning those.
- The Illini tallied 10 service aces, the first time the team logged double-digits since recording 13 aces at Michigan on October 22, 2022.
- The Illinois volleyball program moved to 10-0 all-time against Bradley.
- The Fighting Illini logged double-digit blocks as a team for the fourth time this year, tallying 11 during the win.
- The Orange and Blue remains undefeated in four-set matches, moving to 4-0.
-
Caroline Barnes tied her career-high with three aces.
- Terry added an ace, bringing her career total to 134, placing the senior eighth all-time in the record books.
- Attendance Tuesday night was called at 1,041.
